Some lawyers, prosecutors disagree on child interference convictions being Megan's Law offenses

Jo Ciavaglia @JoCiavaglia

Sunday

Jul 23, 2017 at 12:01 AMJul 23, 2017 at 7:00 AM

Philadelphia resident Rita Jeffcoat became a registered sex offender in Pennsylvania last year after pleading guilty to interfering with the custody of her daughter.

But if prosecutors had let the 49-year-old noncustodial parent plead guilty to a different crime for signing her daughter out of school without the consent of the girl’s legal guardian in 2015, Jeffcoat wouldn't find her photo and personal information listed with convicted child molesters, kiddie porn collectors and rapists on Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law registry.

Pennsylvania prosecutors know what criminal offenses carry so-called Megan’s Law attachments, meaning that defendants convicted of the crimes are required to register as sex offenders for at least 15 years, local defense attorneys said.

Interfering with child custody was among the new crimes added to the Pennsylvania Megan's Law registration requirements that took effect in December 2012. The number of people convicted of that crime rose from eight to 17 between 2013 and 2014, according to the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing. The number dropped to 11 in 2015; preliminary data shows another 11 people convicted last year.

An investigation by this news organization found that at least 34 of 45 active registered sex offenders in Pennsylvania — including at least one each in Bucks and Montgomery counties — whose primary offense was interfering with child custody of children had no known criminal accusations of sex crimes, including Jeffcoat.

Philadelphia defense attorney William Ciancaglini represented Jeffcoat and spoke to this news organization for her. He confirmed there was no sexual component to the crime and Jeffcoat's daughter was returned unharmed to her legal guardian. Jeffcoat, who had no prior criminal record, was initially charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment and related offenses, according to court documents. The other charges were dropped after she pleaded guilty to interfering with child custody.

Ciancaglini said he wouldn't have agreed to the plea deal if he knew it would force Jeffcoat to register under Megan’s Law for 15 years.

“I don’t think anyone, including the judge, knew there was going to be a Megan’s Law attachment,” he said. “What is a surprise, is that the district attorney would want to have her as a registered sex offender. It’s horrible.”

In an email statement, the Philadelphia district attorney’s spokesman, Cameron Kline, cited state law as the reason it pursued the interference charge. "The Pennsylvania's Legislature determined that, in addition to sexual crimes, certain other crimes against children should also require that the offender register with the state police," Kline said.

The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association doesn't track how often individuals with no sex crime accusations are required to register as sex offenders, according to its executive director, Richard Long. Prosecutors have discretion to determine what charges, if any, fit the facts and circumstances of a case, he added, but they shouldn't ignore the law so a defendant can avoid a particularly unpleasant outcome — like being on the Megan's Law registry.

In Bucks, Montgomery counties

Montgomery County didn't have data available on how often police charge a defendant with interference with child custody, according to First Deputy Clerk of Courts Michael Paston.

In Bucks County, 20 people have been charged with the offense since 2013, including three people this year, according to the clerk of courts office. And as of last week, only one current Bucks County resident is listed on the Megan's Law registry as an active sex offender whose primary offense is interfering with child custody.

Bucks County Assistant District Attorney William Murphy, said that resident — Holly Dobrosky, 49, of Middletown — could have avoided the registry before her March trial on interference with child custody, but she rejected a deal that would have let her plead guilty to three counts of disorderly conduct instead of interfering with child custody.

Dobrosky was charged for keeping her then-5-year-old daughter for 41 days last year in violation of a custody order with the girl’s father. The girl was found unharmed in Miami with friends of her mother, police said. Dobrosky, a suspended defense attorney, has filed a petition in Bucks County court challenging her sex offender status.

This news organization was unsuccessful in multiple attempts to reach Dobrosky for comment, including visits to her home. Her public defender, Bradley Bastedo, also didn't return repeated voicemail messages.

Asked about the charge against her, Murphy said it was appropriate for the crime — though it could have been pleaded down.

“It wasn’t kidnapping, but rose to a more serious level because of endangering the welfare (of her daughter),” he said. “This is exactly what she committed.”

And that is part of the unique challenge prosecutors face with these type of cases, said Michael Galantino, a Delaware County deputy district attorney and head of the DA's Special Victims Unit.

Galantino said that he doesn't see a public safety benefit to placing individuals with no sex crime history on a sex offender registry. But, sometimes, he said, a crime is so specific that it simply doesn't meet the definition of an offense that would avoid a Megan's Law attachment.

“I do understand how, logically, this question — Should this person be registered under Megan’s Law? — applies, but we don’t have authority as district attorney to change that,” Galatino added. “It’s difficult to ignore the facts of a case when they fit so squarely in the crime. We can’t avoid the most logical criminal charge because we don’t like the outcome.”

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